News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-10-27
MISS CRUTCHETTS PLAN,
BY HELEN FORREST GRAVES,

bh HELEN FORREST GRAVES.
There had been a little tinklino
sllver-bright April shower, that washe3
the dark iyy-shoots and apple geranium
IN Mabel Verinder's window. and tho,
turned every lingering drop to diamonds
There had been Yet another brief, spark
ling shower at the same time-the tear
that had we!led suddenly up from
Mabel's heart and left sad brilliance il
her eyes.
Its no use," said she. ellis Aun
Selma is right. am no helpmate at al
for Charley. l am nothing more than ;
drag upon him. And, oh, I've tried Sc
hard to help him.
what? And why should Charley be
helped? He hasn't lost the use of his
limbs or anything, has heP'
NO" unwillingly admitted Mabel.
She was just in that mood in which a
woman would rather make martyr of
herself than not ''But his salary is so
small! And he has to work so hard ~
"Any harder than other people?"
questioned Miss Crutchett. 'gThere's a
car-cOnductor lives on our third fiat. He
has to be up at four o'clock every morn
ing, and his last trip ends at ten-forty
at night! And Philip Jones is foreman
of daily paper and never goes to bed
till daylight. ="
''Oh, of course 1 don't mean thatr'
said Mabel. ''But mean that he has to
work pretty steadily for ridiculous
salary"
''La, my DEAR" said Miss Crutchett,
Salaries of any sort are to be respected
nowadays. If Charley's place was vacant
you would find a score of men striving to
get 1t. It's the natural consequence of
oVer-population in our great cities"
eyes, sighed Mabel; ''but Horace
Fontaine's wife earns quite little sum
by doing crayon pictures. And Lucy
Weldon's novel sold for six hundred
dollars. And Nellie Traxou embroiders
tapestry for The Young Woman's
Bureau, and Mrs. Copley gets six or
seven dollars week by law copying for
her brothers firm. Why couldn't 1 do
some such thing as thatT'
docs Charley want you to-" asked
Miss Crutchett, the lenses of her spec
tacles seeming to shine like inquiring
eyes upon Mrs. Verinder.
mo; but his Aunt Selma has been
saying such horrid meddlesome things
about my being a silly child, and Charley
having married too early, and
-HumPh :" said bliss Crutchett. 'The
troubles of one half of the world come
from what the other half says"
''Yes, l know" said Mabel, querulous-
Iy; ''but it would be so nice if could
earn something myself! wouldn't care
how little 1t was. l painted lovely
landscape on old-gold satin last week,
and sent it to the Fine Art Exchange,
but there was no sale for it; and |
crocheted beautiful carriage afghan,
and 1t hung in Bates's window a month,
and got all faded with sunshine and
solled with dust, and no one so much as
asked the price of it. If | only had some
sort of marketable TALENT"
''My dear" good Miss Crutchett had
begun; but here she suddenly checked
herself, and added: Don't l smell
something burning in the kitchen?"
"Oh, | dare say" said Mabel, spirit
lessly. christine is always searching
something or other. Our apple compete
was ruined for dinner yesterday, and the
chicken-potpie couldn't be eaten on Sum
day. She destroyed whole baking of
bread on Friday, and
But Mrs. Verinder broke short off in
the middle of her speech and fed into
the kitchen, where saucepan of lobster
was bubbling over on the stove, and
Christine, the jaunty Swedish house
maiden, was out in the area, watching
the antics of monkey who was chained
to hand-organ.
''It's too bad :" cried Mabel, excite ly.
'It's all burned to the bottom of the
pan! And Charley is so fond of lobster
bisque, too! Oh, L could cryl That
Christine isn't worth her salt.'
"Little foxes spoil the grapesn" alb
stractedly quoted Miss Crutchett.
''What on earth arc you talking about!"
said Mabel, staring at the old lady.
Nothing, " said Miss Crutchett. "This
bisque is spoiled; so is the pan it was
stewing in"
Dear dearl'' cried Mabel; "and it
is too late to make another, and haven't
a thing for dinner in the house, We
must send to VaIighetti's for roast
chichen and some apricot tarts- that's
ALL
"To the French restaurant on Vestry
Place."
'Oh, yesl' said Mabel, indifferently.
''We often do that"
''Humph!" said Miss Crutchett. 'Well.
I'll go out and call that Swedish damsel
OF yours. WhatIwages do you pay her,
by -the-way?"
Fourteen dollars a month";" said
Mabel, with a troubled countenance.
'Just three times what she WORTH
'Humphn' again remarked Miss
CrutIhctt.
''She's so careless ~ said Mabel, plain
lively. ''She has Clipped all the bcauti-
tut china that his Aunt Selma gave me
for a wedding present, and she broke
that exquisite statuette of Diana that
stood on the gilt tripod between the win
dows, and she has let the moths get into
the parlor carpet, out of sheer simple
neglect. Oh, she is such trial?"
Il don't see why you keep such girl, "
observed Miss Crutchett.
They're all II Ike, D." said Mabel. II
miserable, shiftlcss set If / sent her
away, I should in all probability get a
worse one in her place y
'IIumphl' said Miss Crutchett.
The next day the good old lady came
chcerfully up into Mrs. Verinder's fiat
once more.
well, my dear" said she, ''Ivc dis
covered way for you TO help your hus-
hand"
Mabel flung down the book over which
she had been dreaming; her face grew
radiant
Dear Miss Crut hett,n said she, ~
shall always, always be grateful to YOU
Is it literary labOr27
''N-no," said Miss Cruto hett, mot ex-
actly literary labor .
rs it paintingr" urged Mabel.
"No, it is1't painting"
'Oh, l known cried Mabel. "Type-
writing and stenographyl / am sure
could easily l.arn them, if Only"
'he added, with an apprehensive shadow
oming into her face. Il shogldn't Ike
o undertake any occupation, Miss
Irutchett, which would take me per
away from home"
You needn't worry" said Miss
Jrutchett, in tho Grip, brisk way she